Category: Fashion

For people interested in arts, crafts or ideas for decorating the interior of their home, Brazilian style design expert Donata Meirelles has written some great guides in Vogue Brazil. One of her latest ideas was how you could use candles to add even more visual appeal and better smells to the regular rooms in your home. What she suggested was to focus thr candle holders and lighting them in the main entryway and also have them spread around from the living room, dining room and the bathrooms as well. The Brazilian candle brands she recommended using included Tânia Bulhões and Diptyque, and her favorite American brand is Ralph Lauren classic holiday scent.

Donata Meirelles has been the Director of Style at Vogue Brazil magazine since 2005 when she made a step up from her longtime position as fashion director of the prestigious Daslu boutique department store. She attended Columbia University where she received her bachelor’s degree, and in just a couple years she went from a sales person to upper management at Daslu. Meirelles has also become famous as a TV personality and has been seen frequently on the Vogue TV show “Quero Ja” which takes the viewers for an up close look at various fashion trends and lifestyle brands.

It wasn’t that long ago that Donata Meirelles was hosting a magnificent dinner reception for the executives of Air France and Ritz Paris at the estate owned by her and her husband Nizan Guanaes. This event featured honored guests including the famous Grupo RBS national media conglomerate Chairman Duda Melee. Meirelles went all out in having this event prepared by having renowned Brazilian Chef Alex Atala prepare the main courses, and special mixed wines were also served at Meirelles’s gathering crafted in the fashion of the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Paris. Another event that Meirelles happened to present for was the opening of the first ever Ralph Lauren store in Brazil at the Cidade Jardim Mall where she introduced the Quero Ja viewers to all the features the store offered.

Meirelles is not just a fashion and style enthusiast; she’s supported different causes throughout her professional career. One of those includes the The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) which has dedicated its resources and research teams to looking into different causes of HIV and finding cures. Meirelles’s contributions to the foundation earned her the Humanitarian award a few years ago.

How do you buy your clothes these days? Like many people, you likely visit a store to get better acquainted with the look and feel of a company’s line of offerings and then do one of two things: 1) go home and try to find that item or a similar one for a cheaper price online or 2) start searching from your phone immediately for a cheaper price online. When athletic fashion brand Fabletics was founded, its founders were keenly aware that the world of retail was becoming a digital first market place. Unlike many retail companies that have been around for decades and are struggling to evolve to give a great digital experience, Fabletics was launched in 2013 as a digital centric company.

They did this by making a firm decision to only open a few stores in highly strategic locations and creating a full online experience by using a reverse showroom method. This reverse showroom method invites buyers into a fun and easy to use online space where they get a feel for what the brand is about, its product line and the quality of the items. Fabletics takes this a step further by using an algorithm to create a highly unique profile for each individual customer. How is this done? People can hop on Fabletics’ website where they can answer a few questions about things like what type of athletic activity they like to do, what their style is like and their sizes and once they become a Fabletics member each outfit is tailored to their specific preferences. In fact, after taking the quiz and signing up – they have to do nothing at all except enjoy a monthly new outfit from Fabletics delivered to their doorstep. This has been a cornerstone of Fabletics’ success as it jumped from a startup to $250 million in sales and 1.2 million members in just a few short years.

Kate Hudson is synonymous with Fabletics. She is their spokesperson and she also is highly involved with the company’s operations. She stated that she really believes in Fabletics success and its growth and for that reason she will continue to be consistently hands on. She attends sales meetings, reviews weekly numbers, consults on the social media strategy and, most importantly, studies the company’s inventory to make sure the pieces are loved by Fabletics members. She knows which pieces her customers love and which pieces aren’t as great of a success and is hands on in making changes so that every piece is a success.

Wengie has a number of examples on how to create a unique looking gift wrapped package including using a scrap piece of cloth, empty oatmeal box, straws, and knitting yarn. The scrap piece of cloth can be used to make a good looking ribbon. Simply take the ribbon and tie the corners from end to end. Repeat again only tying the other corners. Continue the process until the ribbon has no loose ends. The bow created will fill the top of the package. Add a plastic flower by simply sliding it inside of the bow to finish off the gift box.

Use a hole punch on both ends of the newly created gift box so that one can add a ribbon through each of the holes. The ribbon will create a handle to carry the gift item. Wengie adds that using previously discarded boxes is great for the environment.

Gift wrapping can take the look of a 3-D effect using straws and yarn. Cut straws into smaller pieces and pull them through some strong. Take the straws and create an original looking designer box. Glue it into place when one is satisfied with their creation. Try using yarn on a box by wrapping it around and around on a box. Once the yarn is in the position one wishes, simple use glue to secure it to the gift box.